Hurt
by Nocturnalwhitewolf
Summary: when Heather seems to be acting alittle more distant than the hedgies are used to, RJ tries to comfort her. In that, he learns somethin he isn't quite comfortable with. His reaction drives Heather into a world of emotional agony...
1. Uneasy distance

Hurt - NocturnalWhiteWolf

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*Of course I don't own Over the Hedge or any of its characters*

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The sun peeked just barely over the horizon, awaiting it's rest under the cookie cutter houses and endless hilltops. Heather watched as what was a charcoal gray sky was illuminated by shades of red, pink and orange.

It wasn't uncommon that she would do this. She felt it was relaxing and awe inspiring. It made her feel at peace, and those times were rare now a-days.

"Heather?" her father called her from the log.

"Yeah?" she yelled back, looking over her shoulder.

"We're gonna be going soon." He was referring of course to the heist.

Heather gave one final glance at the crimson sky. Letting out a heavy sigh, she agrees. "Yeah, okay. I'm coming." It's not that she didn't want to go, but at times, she felt like she needed to be left to herself. Sometimes people around her would make her feel overwhelmed, like people wouldn't stop bothering her.

At the log, Heather gathered her things and placed them aside. No use in having the Bucky and the twins stepping on her CDs or hammy accidentally running over her ipod. RJ seemed to notice her aloof and distant behavior.

"Hey Heather," RJ says quietly as he walks up to her, so as to not alert the others. "Somethin wrong?"

Heather felt her face blush slightly. _Damn it,_ she thought, trying her best to hide her glowing red cheeks. "No, no…not at all. We gonna get going or stand here talking about it?" she tried her best to laugh, but could see it in RJ's face, it wasn't convincing.

RJ turns to the rest of the crowd. Gesturing up to the sky, he says "Hey, guys…I don't think we'll be able to go tonight. It looks like it's gonna pour any second." There were a few grunts and disappointing sighs from the crowd, but RJ's point was taken, and they trust his judgment. He turns to Heather again, their blue eyes meeting.

"Oh come on RJ, the kids were looking forward to this one," Heather said quietly to him.

"That's why we're going tomorrow, but for now…" He looks aside into the forest brush, the part of the forest that's labeled future development on his map. It was thick, but there was a path wide enough for the two of them. "Lets just take a little walk."

"RJ, I'm fine, please…I don't"

"No, I insist. Come on Heather, you know it wouldn't kill you to have a talk with your good friend RJ" He starts to walk away into the brush, gesturing her to follow.

_Friend_ she thought. _Damn it RJ, Why ya gotta be so persistent?_

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	2. A hidden pain

Heather walked along side RJ. The only sound that kept from silence was the occasional autumn leaf crunching beneath their paws. It was an uncomfortable silence that Heather found hard to take. She decides to break the silence.

"So…uh" she begins. "What's up?"

"Nothing with me. Same old." He turns to her. "But what about you?" there was a genuine look of concern on his face, something Heather hated to see. She never did like anyone feeling bad for her or pitying her.

"Well…what _about_ me?"

"Heather, I'm gonna be pretty straight forward." RJ began. "You've been acting…different. Ya know, like something's wrong." he shrugs. "I don't know maybe it's just me, but you look like you could use someone to talk to…just someone who'll listen."

"I don't need to be analyzed, thanks." she retorted quickly.

"Heather, don't be like that." RJ pleaded. "I'm your friend, you can trust me…"

Heather felt like she wanted to bawl right there, just let it all out. _Friend_, she repeated RJ's words to herself in her mind. That word…it stung her, with every vowel and consonant piercing past her flesh and into the spinning vortex of her soul. She could feel tears rising up and her voice felt weak. But she had to hold it back, even if only to delay the inevitable.

"Heather?" RJ said with his eyes trying to meet hers. They avoided him, almost franticly.

Heather had to cover it up, and the first thing to arise from the mess of emotions was anger. "RJ, stop. I don't want to talk about it, I told you already." The anger burned away the tears.

"Heather, c'mon…"

"What the hell aren't you getting?! No means no, asshole!" she storms away into the forest brush. _Asshole?_ she thought. _shit, I didn't want to say asshole._

RJ was left standing there confused. "huh?" he whispered quietly to himself. He turns back to the direction that Heather went. Thinking for a moment, he starts on his way back to the log. _Somethin's up._ He thought. _Maybe Ozzie can fill me in…_

Back at the log, the hedgies were setting up dinner. Ozzie however was off to the side, leaning on a tree and looking out into the brush. When his eyes met with RJ's, Ozzie's expression of concern was enhanced.

RJ walks up to Ozzie. Ozzie begins, "where is Heather?"

"She's taking a walk, Oz." He looks back. "Not sure when she'll be back, but I wouldn't worry to much about that." He turns back to Ozzie. "Can we talk a bit?"

"Oh, sure, sure" he replies.

"Great, cause I wanted to talk to you about Heather." RJ sits down at the foot of the tree and invites Ozzie to do the same. As Ozzie sits down, RJ begins. "Have you noticed Heather's been acting… just a little out of the ordinary?"

Ozzie releases a heavy sigh. "Yes, I have. She never seems to want to be around anyone anymore." He turns to RJ, who's listening most tentatively. "It's like she's avoiding us. The others think it's just some form of teenage rebellion, but uh…" He turns to look at the quickly brightening stars. "I think it runs deeper than that."

RJ adjusts himself into a more postured position as he decides to join Ozzie in his stargazing. "Yeah, I figured that too. Got any Idea's?"

"What do mean, about what's bothering her?" RJ nods his head gently. "Not a one."

"Well, uh… Ya think I should ask?" RJ suggests. Ozzie hesitantly nods his head.

"I don't know if you realize it, but she trusts you. She may not show it all the time, but remember how she was always the first to volunteer for every heist? How if she ever had a problem she'd turn to you above us all?" Ozzie said, his eyes fixed firmly on the other hedgies beginning their small meal. "That isn't something you should take lightly."

RJ thought for a moment. What Ozzie said was definitely true, but that statement is tied to a question. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Maybe it's because…I believe that you can woo the truth from her. If she trusts you, then maybe she'll tell you and we can solve the problem." RJ acknowledges Ozzie's statement and walks back to go find Heather, forgetting about the previous encounter. Ozzie turns back to the stars as RJ walks out of sight. " Or maybe…" Ozzie whispers to himself. "That trust has turned to lust, and that has become the problem…"


	3. a secret revealed

The moonlight cast shadows that were almost beyond reason of the naked eye. A light blue coated the darkness around every shadow, every shape, stripping it of color. They all seemed to dance around one small figure in this, Heather; a small quivering ball of white, standing out among the dusky forest.

She lay there crying, scorning herself, "Why?" she said through hot tears. "Asshole? You call the only person you could ever feel this way about an asshole?" She beat the ground as more tears came to her eyes.

"Heather?" She heard someone calling her. _Damn, _she thought, spinning her head quickly. _It's RJ! I can't let him see me like this._ she ran deeper into the forest, wiping her eyes as she ran. She hit something, causing her to fall backwards. "Heather?" She heard from above. She slowly opened her still pinkish eyes, irritated from the crying.

"H-hi RJ" she said, clearing her throat.

"What were you running from?" he asks.

She smiled nervously, still on her back from the impact. "Oh, nothing. Just, jogging, clearing my head…" _Nice one, genius._ she remarked at herself. "so…um… what's up? Ya need me for something."

RJ helps her up. "Is there something you want to talk about?"

"Huh?" Heather asks, playing dumb. She figured he didn't know, but best not let on yet. She was more focused on his eyes, mesmerized by them. _wow…_ she thought. The way the moonlight hit them made the blues stand out more. They almost looked like they could glow.

"Heather, please…There's something on your chest and I think I could help you with it. Just give me a chance, Heather, and I promise I'll do what I can." RJ sat down at the foot of the nearest tree, gesturing for her to do the same. She did, with a heavy sigh.

"I…" she could help but struggle with her words. "O…okay, fine. I guess it's time you knew anyway." she stands up and begins to pace around a bit. "Ya see… I well…" her eyes meet his. "I… love you…" she finally got out with a heavy release.

RJ's eyes couldn't help themselves but to widen, the pupils shrinking. He definitely didn't see that coming. He blinked hard and turned his head down, scratching the back of it. "Hehe…hoo" he giggled nervously and sighed. His expression was serious, almost melancholy. "I, uh… don't know what to say."

She got up close, her eyes trying to be seductive. "Please say yes…" There eyes meet again. Both looked almost ready to bawl now.

"I'm sorry…" RJ says.

Heather's eyes move down as she gets up. She turns away. Her eyes get red and puffy.

"Heather…" RJ says, almost regretting his own words.

"No, RJ…it's fine." she says with a plastered on smile, contrasting her tears. She looks down again. "I just feel like a complete friggin' idiot."

"I'm sorry, Heather, I just don't have feelings for you that way."

Tears rose quickly to her eyes again and she wiped them away quickly, angrily. She wanted to cry, she could feel her gut rising… but she couldn't do this in front of him. She never liked to look weak, or to have others pity her.

RJ put his hand on her shoulder, saying "we can still be friends…"

She pulled away solemnly. "Can I have a… minute, please." She said, again using that fake smile as she turned her head slightly.

"Uh…sure." RJ said. Once she saw he was out of sight and earshot, she let it all out. She fell back, tears streaming from her deep blue eyes as her lower lip quivered. She punched the floor and threw fallen leaves, screaming without voice.

"No… Please!" she grunted, "no…" she cried, letting her head fall into her arms. She lay there, sobbing aguishly over her distressing heartbreak. She cried herself to sleep there, laying with her head buried in her arms…


	4. The Nightmare

"RJ?" Heather whispered. There was darkness everywhere, her being the only illuminated thing in sight. She hears footsteps behind her, causing her head to turn swiftly. Then again, in front of her this time. She felt scared and alone.

"RJ?" she said again, her voice struggling to make even the slightest sound. Then a figure appears out of the blackness. She runs up to him and hugs him.

"Oh, RJ…" she says with relief. She feels RJ's hands slowly wrap around her waist, but it didn't feel right. His hands where cold, and gripping her too tightly, hurting her. "R- RJ?"

RJ pushes her onto her back, eyes wide with intensity. "Get the hell away from me." he says.

"RJ, it's me, it Heather…" she could easily make out that he didn't care. She gets up and gets closer to him, trying to refrain from crying.

RJ jolts his arm out for her chest, reaching far inside! Heather is helpless to do anything but watch as he pulls out her heart! "Stupid girl…" he says softly. Heather drops to her knees. "Now I have your heart…" He throws it on the floor "Now I'm gonna break it…"

RJ stomps down on it, blood exploding around his foot. "AAAGGHH!!!" Heather screamed at the sudden pain in her chest! Then she noticed black forming around her wound, glowing as if it were light. Then the skin begins to crack through her body, emanating from the wound as more black light swarms through her! It goes up to her eyes. She screams in agony again as RJ watches. Then she shatters into pieces of dried flesh…

"AAAAGGH!" Heather screams as she wakes from her chilling nightmare. She's coated in a freezing sweat, matting down her fur. "It was just a dream…" she said sadly. "Only a dream…"

"Heather?" Stella called from a distance. Heather swung her head to look, bashing her snout against a tree. She swore heavily. "Heather?" She heard her call again.

"Yeah?" She called back. Stella appeared out of the bushes.

"Hey, girl! Where ya been, we've been looking for you." Stella said.

"Oh, ya have?" she said timidly. "I'm sorry about that, I must've dosed off or something while I was out last night."

"Well what where ya doin out here last night?" Stella said with curious, but somehow scolding tone.

Every fiber of Heather's flesh was itching to say something like, _Mind your own business, bitch, you're not my mother!_ but what came out was, "Just… taking a walk is all."

"Uh-huh" Stella said sarcastically.

"What?"

"I dunno, that sounds like a dumb excuse to me." She gestures with her head.

"Please, Stella… just leave it be." she spews out a smile. "It's nothing to be worried about."

"So you admit that you were lying?"

"All I said was-"

"Heather, come one." she cocks her hip out and places her hand there. "You are such an open book it's almost sad."

Heather sighs heavily. _Is this gonna be one a those boring lectures…_

"It's about RJ isn't it?" Stella says softer than normal.

Heather looks up at her in shock. "How did you-"

"Oh please, Heather! I dunno if I look it but I ain't no fool. The way you look at him, the things you say to him. If that ain't love or something…I can't say I know what is."

"You didn't tell anyone, did you?"

Stella sighs through her nose. "No I didn't, but I think it's about time you should."

"I did"

"Really?" Stella says, a bit shocked. Then it dawns on her. "Oh, you told him…"

"yeah, I did." a sadness fills the atmosphere.

"Oh Heather, I'm sorry…" Heather didn't have to say anymore, her eyes give her away. She goes in for a hug, but Heather steps back.

"It's not a big deal, Stella" she lies. "It's not like it's the worst thin g that's ever happened to me. I did have to lose a parent. You know what that's like…"

"Yeah…" She looks down. "I guess I do." She peers up at Heather. "If you need someone to talk to, just let me know 'kay?"

"I'm fine. Don't worry bout me,"

"Just don't do nothing stupid, ya hear?"

Heather nods her head as Stella heads back to the log. There was a heist today, and Heather wanted some very specific things…


	5. Tension level rising

The group decided to have a quick meal before they left for the selected houses. Penny provided some French fries, while Lou cooked the burgers on a grill they stole a few times back. At the dollhouse table, there was Verne, Stella, Bucky, Quillo, and Spike. Penny and Lou were going to join them. Ozzie, RJ, and Heather were no where to be found, and that left an uneasy feeling with Penny.

"Oh, dear…" Penny says, looking out toward the forest trees. "Were in the world are they?"

"Oh, I'm sure they're fine, there." Lou says. "They probably lost track of time or something. Happens to me all the time."

"I hope so, dear. But I'm worried for the darlings." She says. She looks over at Verne. "You don't know where they are, do you?"

"I'm…I'm afraid not. But they've been acting really strange. It leaves me with a bad feeling…"

"Will you shut up with your bad feelings already?" Stella interrupts. "Every time something goes just a little out of proportion you preach these 'bad feelings' to us."

"I'm just saying…"

"Well stop saying and eat your food." Stella says briskly. "No use making every one think there's a problem when there isn't."

"Is something wrong, Stella?" Verne says curiously.

"What are you talking about?"

"Is it that time again?" Verne smiles into himself at his schmuck remark.

Stella got all red. "You little bastard!" She lunges for him over the table, tackling him to the ground. Stella pounds her fists on top of Verne's head as he helplessly ducks into his shell.

"Fight, fight, fight, fight!" The kids chant.

"ENOUGH!!!" a loud voice screams, stopping everyone in their tracks. It's RJ. He grabs Stella and tosses her off of Verne effortlessly. "What the hell is going on?"

"He started it!" Stella called, picking herself up.

"I don't care who started it, in fact, I don't care about this whole little ordeal." He looks over at Verne. "If you guys are too childish to see that we have more important things to take care of… I don't know what to do from here."

There's a bit of a silence. RJ never was the type to yell like this. He was more one to get yelled at. Penny broke this silence. "What more important things?"

RJ sighed into himself, trying to breathe out the stress and anger that this had brought him. "Heather's gone." They all gasp and look at each other, ashamed at what they did. "Ozzie and I went out to look for her, but no luck."

"Well…err…" Lou began, trying to sound professional, like he was calm and cool about the whole thing. "When did she go missing?"

"Only about an hour ago. Normally that wouldn't worry me or, any of us for that matter, but she didn't tell us she was going anywhere and she never goes around food time." RJ looked back and was surprised at what he saw.

Ozzie was standing there, holding Heather's shoulder, smiling to them. "I found her."

RJ walks up to Heather. "Where were you?"

"Just out." she says laconically. RJ looks up at Ozzie looking for the okay to pry a bit. It was refused.

"All right, Heather. Could you just tell someone next time" RJ says. Heather nods and walks toward the table. She doesn't smile, she doesn't sigh, she does nothing but walk in a state of drudgery. RJ knows he can't ask her what's wrong, he'd be asking for something he already had. He looks up at Ozzie. "Do you think she'll be okay?"

"Should be." Ozzie says as he walks toward the table. Just as much of an irritated answer as Heather's. Heather told him what had happened no doubt, and Ozzie's uncomfortable with it.

"All right, everyone, lets eat." Lou says. Everyone does, but Heather.

"Heather, sweety," Ozzie says to his daughter. "Eat up, come one."

"I, uh…" she begins. "I'm not really hungry…"

"Why's that?" Ozzie says.

"I just have a lot on my plate right now…" She says. Ozzie understood his daughter's less obvious meaning. He continues eating as Heather stares off into the distance.

* * *

Yay puns!


	6. Heather's decision

The nightly darkness made for a perfect cover for the group as they set out on their raid. RJ lead the group as usual, but Heather wasn't up front with him like usual. She was in the back with Stella and the hesitant Verne.

"Heather." Verne asked.

"Yeah, Verne?" she replies.

"You've been acting weird lately. Are you all right?"

_Typical,_ Heather thought. _Is every friggin' member of the family gonna ask me the same Goddamn questions. _"I'm fine Verne." She says shortly.

"You don't seem fine to me." He says.

"Well I am, so stop worrying."

"Heather, please-"

"No, you please." Heather interrupts loudly, causing the whole group to turn around. "Please, stop with the twenty questions and accept that I'm fine!" She turns to the group. "Is it so fucking hard to believe?!" She yelled.

"Heather!" Her father scolds.

She sighs heavily. "I'm sorry, dad." she says.

"Ya see!" Verne says at her. "That's not normal. Something's wrong and you're holding it back from us."

"Verne," RJ says. Verne veers over. "Just shut the hell up. No one needs you getting into their business." He looks over at Heather. "She's been asked the same thing from everyone else, and I'm sure she's tired of hearing it. You prying isn't going to help her, you're just antagonizing,"

Heather smiles. _Finally, the voice of reason. _

"Just leave her alone, she doesn't want to talk about it." He concludes. Heather didn't expect RJ to stand up for her, especially not after what had happened between them.

"Well, what if I _can _help?" Verne says snootily.

"You can't." RJ says back.

"How would you know?" Verne says.

"Because you suck at helping." Stella says nonchalantly.

Lou joins in. "Yeah, Verne. Ya do tend to make things out to be worse and well…"

"And what, Lou?" Verne says.

"You over-help." Lou says sheepishly. "You tend to make it worse."

"Really? Is that what you think of me?" No one says anything. "Well?!"

"Verne." Heather says. "Just forget it. We should get going before, like, dawn." Heather leads the group into the house's back yard and RJ takes over.

"All right gang, Our entry point is basement window." RJ begins. "From there, We'll make our way to…"

As RJ gives out the instructions, Heather drowns it out in RJ. She watches him, his every move seemed to be a dance, conveying what he felt in an artistic method. She saw his eyes shifting from one family member to the next, two blue spotlights that shone iridescently on the dim night. _Look at him, _Heather thought. _He's our leader now. He's The top gun, the big cohune._ She sighed inwardly, looking down at herself.

"After that, we go to the cabinets where they keep the…" RJ continued.

_He's RJ…_ She thought, still gazing at him. _He's the perfect guy. Smart, charming, good-looking…_ she sighs again, in the back of the group, out of notice from the group. _But I'm not the perfect girl…I'm just Heather, the possum who desires what she can never have. I'm uneducated, out of shape, pitied._ Her eyes begin to water, getting red around the blue irises. _I don't deserve him…I'll never be good enough for him… _

"And Heather…" RJ calls. Heather looks up quickly, her focus undivided. "You'll stand watch by the west staircase. If anything goes wrong, or someone wakes up, you tell us so we can get out asap, okay?"

"Okay, RJ." She says

"All right, team. Let's go." RJ says as they head out into the house. Heather follows, wiping her eyes as they get closer to the lit window. It's unlocked, so RJ pulls it open easily. He gestures silently for them to head in. As they do, he pats each one on the back, checking his count. After the last one is in, he follows.

Heather wasn't paying any attention at all to the instructions, so she followed the rest of them. Once upstairs, she manned her position, the western staircase.

It was a good thing he said which one, there were three staircases. _What on earth would they need that many for? _She thought. The one she was guarding was the only one that led to the bedrooms, but the others were mysterious. Not that anyone really cared, though.

She couldn't help but think, _how did RJ know where all this stuff was? _He always did know everything about all the houses they raided. It was odd, useful, but odd. It was among the many things that eluded Heather about RJ. For someone she cared so much about, she knew very little about him. Where did he come from, where are his parents, why was he always alone. All these she didn't have the slightest clue about, but she almost liked it that way. He's mysterious at this point.

Right now she had another question though. _What do I do about this? RJ obviously doesn't like me, the others don't trust me further than they can throw me… _

She thought back to her talk with Stella, and in that remembered what she'd planned on doing, why she wanted to go on this heist. "There are still a few things I need to get." She whispered to herself. _Oh God… _she thought. _Am I actually gonna go through with this? _Then she remembered why, and how strong that motivation was.

"All this time, I loved him…only him. And he rejects me, like vomit or sewage." She can't cry any more, her eyes are dried, swallowed up by overwhelming drive. "I have to…" She sighs heavily, solemnly. "Oh RJ… please forgive me…"


	7. Drempt persuasion

"What the hell is wrong with you, ya dumb bitch?" Stella says to Heather. Again she's in this blackness.

"It's just a dream, right…it's not real." she says trying to convince herself, closing her eyes.

"Are you so sure?" She hears Lou say. "You're an ungrateful little brat, that's pretty realistic, don't ya think?"

She turns swiftly to follow the voices, unable to find their sources. "Where are you?! " she screams.

"Right here," says a figure, appearing as white as snow in the blackened haze. "Do you remember me?"

Heather's eyes widen. "Mom?" she runs up to her and hugs her. "You died giving birth to me. Why are you here?"

"Get away from me you ungrateful little whore." She pushes Heather away. "I gave my life for you to be here, and this is what you've done with it!?" she yells. "I should've taken their advice and had that abortion!" She yells.

Heather's voice cracks as she speaks. "But…Dad said that you were so happy when you saw me for the first time. You loved me, and then you died soon after…"

"Yes." She says coldly. "I loved that little baby, hiding behind the placenta and the blood. Now look at you. You've grown up to be this!" She looks her up and down. "I gave my life so you can turn into this! You're nothing but a frumpy little tramp who's under the impression that she loves a man. You're nothing but a horny little teenager who's biting off more than she'll ever be able to chew." She fades away as Heather drops to her knees. There is a pain in her stomach, gnawing at her.

"You do remember her." She hears. It's her father talking, she can see that. "That's one thing you're good at is bearing memories." Heather stays there, unable to speak. "Every time I look at you, I see your mother and how you killed her! I wanted to forget, but every time you look at me with those big blue eyes I remember her." Heather hears her father crying. "You took her away from me! I want her back…" His voice fades into sobs.

Heather goes over to hug her father, comfort him, but she's pushed away. Then RJ appears, replacing Ozzie.

"You…" His voices echoes, shaking the place she's in. "You are the only thing…The one thing that makes this place, our home, a miserable place."

Heather looks down her lip quivering. "I know…" her voice is weak.

"Why do continue to make us miserable? You constantly obsess over me, you never have anything good to say anymore…Why do you do this to us?" RJ moves closer as Heather cries.

"Because…" she manages to squeeze out of a tight throat. "Because I'm greedy… I've never cared about anyone else… I don't deserve to be here, with you, them… I deserve anyone, or anything." She looks up to RJ. "All I've been doing is making people worry about me, making you uncomfortable around me, and now that I told my dad, he hates you." Heather wipes her eyes. "You're right, I do make things miserable…"

"Then you know what would be the best thing to do…for everyone…" He says. "Think about your father…" an image of her father appears out of the blackness. He's dating his wife, Jane. They look so happy. "They were happy before you came along. You killed the only woman he ever loved." The image fades.

RJ looks up. "Look at Ozzie later." An image appears above them of RJ and Ozzie laughing and talking. "If it wasn't for you, we would still have a good relationship, and perhaps he would have less time to focus on what was taken from him."

The image fades as RJ looks into her eyes. "Please, before you cause anymore pain, before you hurt anyone else…"

"I know…" Heather says.

* * *

Heather wakes up in the middle of the night, surrounded by the family she believes she's destroying. She gets up and walks away into the forest with the things she brought from the heist. A pencil, a sheet of paper, and some rope…


	8. Realization

RJ woke up earlier than usual. The sun hadn't quite risen above the horizon yet, but there were precursors of its arrival. The pink and yellow light that swarmed over the houses and amidst the trees contrasted perfectly to the dark and mysterious sky on the opposing side.

RJ got up and went over to the pile to search for some breakfast. He made his pick on a bag of nachos. As he opens it, he looks over to his family. "What did I ever do to deserve these guys?" He asks with a smile as he looks up. He takes out a chip and eats it. As he looks over again, he notices that only one possum is on the branch next to the log, and that's Ozzie.

"Heather…" He says rolling his eyes. "Teenage angst. Nothing I can do about that." He continues eating his chips.

"Aren't you a teenager, RJ?" Penny asks from besides him.

"Oh, hey Penny. I didn't know you were up." RJ says, scooting over to leave room for Penny. She sits down.

"Oh, I couldn't sleep a wink. Not with Heather acting like this. It makes me worried, the poor dear" She says. "Do you think she'll be all right, RJ?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine. She's just going through a bit of a rough spot is all. You shouldn't worry so much"

Penny looks down, unconvinced, but unwilling to say much about it. "I suppose you're right…"

* * *

"I'm sorry" she writes. "I'm sorry for all the harm I've caused…" Her vision gets blurry as a tear drop falls from her eyes onto the paper. She curses herself again as she angrily wipes it away.

When she finishes she drops the pen and heads over to the tree with the letter in hand. "It's almost dawn." She says. "Last dawn…" She drops the letter at the foot of the tree and climbs until she reaches a high branch.

The rope was tied tightly to the branch as it swung gently from side to side. The noose had already been tied, and it awaited its place around Heather's neck. It slips on easily. She looks down from the tree branch. "RJ…" she says, closing her eyes "I'm so sorry…"

* * *

"RJ," Penny says. "I know I've said it before, but I'm worried for Heather. I think you should look for her."

"Oh Penny," RJ sighs. "She's a big girl, she can handle whatever's bothering her." RJ notices that Penny is unconvinced. "We've already spoken, it's not a big deal. She'll be fine."

"But what if she's not." Penny said, speaking firmer than usual. "I don't want to find out that something happened to her…" Penny bit her lip as she felt her eyes get puffy.

"Like what?" RJ said, a sudden seriousness in his eyes.

Penny let out sigh and her head drooped. "I saw her on the last heist… she was…" Penny felt her voice choke up.

"She was what, Penny?" RJ said urgently.

"She was away from the group, and I saw her grab some things…" Penny started to cry. "I should have told someone, but I was too scared…"

"What did she take?" He asked with a genuine concern and a pressing force.

"Rope." She said through sobs. "I should've told you, I'm so sorry…"

RJ's eyes widened as the thought registered. _Rope_. He thought. He couldn't conceive of it, but a crushing guilt forced his abdomen to tighten and his mind to whirl. _This is all my fault... _The thoughts ran through his mind. _Oh my God, she's gonna..._ " Oh my God…" He whispers. He jumps up and darts into the forest. "Heather!" he calls, cursing himself as he runs.

* * *

Sorry to keep you guys waiting for this chapter. I know it took a while.


	9. Final Choice

"All I've been doing lately is making everyone miserable." Heather said softly. "Here I was thinking I deserved him…me…" She chuckled sadly. "Stupid girl…"

"Heather!" She hears RJ call. "Heather, where are you?"

"Shit!" she said softly. "I'd better hurry then…" she begins to step off of the branch.

"Heather?" RJ pops his head from the bushes surrounding the tree. "Oh my God…Heather…" RJ can't believe what he's seeing. Heather, atop a tree branch with a noose around her neck, one foot on the branch, the other flirting with certain death.

"Just stay back, RJ!" she shouts. "I'm gonna do it and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

RJ looks up, a mix of uncertainty and a look that could be interpreted as disgust on his face. "Heather, are you out of your mind?!" He says with a reprimanding tone. "What are you doing up there?"

"Use your brain RJ!" Heather retorts. "I think you can figure this out."

"Well, yeah… I mean it's not that hard to figure out, but…"

"But what RJ?" Heather says on a sigh.

"But why?" He says, the apparent disgust, or anger, or whatever it was on his face disappeared. He looked gentler now.

Heather held back her tears as she hid them behind anger. "Don't say that." she said firmly. "You know why." a hot tear streamed down her cheeks.

RJ looked at her a bit confused. He thought back for a moment. "You're still upset about me rejecting you?"

"No!" She said. "That was only the start of things." she closed her eyes and turned from RJ. "I don't want to hurt you anymore." she said in a near whisper.

"Hurt me?" RJ says, trying to stay firm. "I don't recall you ever hurting me, or anyone else for that matter."

"Liar" she says softly.

"Liar?" RJ says softly. "All right, well if your concern is hurting us than try this…" RJ begins. Heather looks at him hesitantly. "By jumping, don't you think that would hurt us a lot more than anything you've done to us, whatever that is?"

"But all that I've done…" She says. "You can't possibly still want me around after that." She sighs. "You'd be better off without me."

"What could you have possibly done that would make us not want to have you around?" RJ said.

"_I've_ been the center of everything for the past few days." she chokes up "Everyone's always worried about _me_; it's making everyone fight and argue and hate each other…" She starts to bawl. "You and my dad were friends before _I_ told him about how _I_ felt about you. You could've been great friends but _I _ruined that! _ME_!" she yells through heavy sobs.

RJ is a bit taken back, unsure of how to answer that. Normally he's have a sure fire way of dealing with any situation, but not this one. _Heather really thinks that she's hurting us._ RJ thought. _How can I convince her otherwise… that she really is important to us._

"So just get back." She says. "I have to do it. I'm gonna do it."

"No you won't." RJ says, looking up quickly, his bright blue eyes like spot lights on heather.

Heather gazes back. "What makes you so sure?"

"Well…" RJ starts, confident in his answer. "If you really wanted to kill yourself, you would've jumped long before I came here to talk you out of it, maybe even the second you saw me." RJ walks a little closer. "And…" he says. "When people are ready to die, they don't feel any need to justify their decision with others, or cry as they're doing it." He starts to climb up the tree. "when you're ready, you just do it…solemnly, emotionless."

Heather felt herself choke up again. "Why do you say that? How would you know all that?"

"When you live in the life of a drifter, you see some things that stick with you till you die." He gets up to the branch heather's on and sits down behind her. "There's another reason too." He says looking at her.

"W…what's that?" she feels her gut rising and warmth gathering on the back of her eyes.

RJ looks down to the rope that's tied around the tree. He takes the feline of his left index finger and cuts the rope. "You didn't stop me…" He says.

Heather sprung into RJ's arms, hugging him tightly as she let streams drizzle down his back. "Shh" RJ hushed her as he returned her hug.

"I'm so sorry, RJ" she muttered into his shoulder.

"It's okay, Heather…" RJ said smiling into himself as tears formed in his eyes. He did it. He saved Heather, and that felt good, relieving.

The sun flashed through the blackened forest leaves to them. They released each other to watch as the sun rose, painting the sky shades of red, pink and orange.


	10. Resolution

RJ and Heather walked back to the log side by side. Everyone is up now, waiting for the two. Ozzie is the first to see them, and he separates from the group to hug his daughter.

"Oh, Heather!" He says as he lifts her in his arms.

"Hi, dad." She says with a smile and blushing cheeks.

"Where'd you go to, we were so worried." Ozzie said.

There was a pause. RJ spoke up. "We decided to watch the sunrise together. The best view's from on top of the trees." RJ scratched the back of his head. "Sorry that we worried you, Oz."

"Oh, think nothing of it. But could you please tell me next time before you go out?" Ozzie said.

"Sure dad" Heather said with a nervous giggle. Ozzie goes back to the log as RJ begins to follow. Heather stops him. He turns around to look at her as she begins to speak. "Thanks for not ratting me out to my dad." She says bashfully. "It means a lot."

"Oh, yeah, sure no problem." RJ says nonchalantly. "What he doesn't know can't hurt him."

"Yeah, thanks." Heather says. "I, uh… I also want to thank you for what you did back there. You were right; I was a little out of my mind." She turns her head as her cheeks go red again.

"No problem, kiddo." He says. "What'd you do with all the stuff you used?"

"I threw the rope away and stuck the pencil in the food pile."

"What about the note?" RJ asks.

Heather opens her hand, where a crumbled up piece of paper lies. "I thought I could keep it. Ya know, to remind me of this if I ever feel that way again." She smiled. "That even when I felt like I was good for nothing and a waste of life, you were right there for me, helping me through it." She unwrinkled it and looked at it. "Like always, you didn't give up on me…Thank you so much RJ."

"It's no problem, Heather." He said. "You want me to put that in my bag?"

"Yes please." Heather said as RJ goes to get his bag. As he goes to get it she can't help herself but to look at it one more time. It reads:

"Dear family,

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for all the harm that I've caused. I know that this suicide will seem like a greedy act of betrayal to fit in line with everything else that I've done, but please understand. I don't want to cause anymore harm than I already have. I've been making all of you worry about me; and that's been creating tensions that never would've been if I hadn't caused them.

If I could take back all that I've done, I would. If I could take back anything that I said, I would; but I can't. The only thing I can do is keep it from ever happening again.

Heather"

RJ came back with his bag. "Alright, just stick it in there wherever you want."

Heather glanced at the note one more time before putting it in RJ's bag. She watches as he takes it back to the log. She notices Penny approaching.

"Hello, dear" She said in her usual traditional mother voice. "How are you?"

"I'm good Penny," She smiles. "In fact, never better…" she catches a glimpse of RJ playing with the children, an obvious longing in her eyes.

Penny notices. "Heather, is something wrong?"

Heather shoots back into reality. "No." She says with that 'are you kidding' tone in her voice.

"Well alright then." Penny looks to her husband, then back to Heather. "I'd better get back to breakfast." she smiles sweetly. "Growing boys, you know?" she starts off.

"Oh, Penny," Heather calls as Penny turns. "You look like you could use a hand. Could I help?" She grins sheepishly.

"Sure, Heather." Penny says. They go off to make the eggs and French toast.

Heather turns back to RJ again. _One day, _she smiles. _One day._


End file.
